Works For Me Wednesday – Organizing Recipes

Sally asked “Recipes…I need a good way to organize all the recipes I clip out of magazines and newspapers. What do you do?”

Funny you should ask me that Sally! I have a confession to make – I’m addicted to recipes! I clip, print and copy more recipes than I’ll every need. I always have the intention of making the recipe, in the end I stick with tried and true family favorites – because my boys don’t like change. Oh well, someday that yummy veggie recipe I ripped out of Good Housekeeping back in 1999 will get made.

So how do I keep them organized? Simple – a binder. Are you surprised? I am quite fond of binders! (Image: CR Gibson Kitsch ‘n Mixer Recipe Memory Book)

Recipes are always printed or written on 8 1/2 x 11 sheets of paper. If it’s clipped from a magazine or newspaper, I tape it to a sheet. I switched from a card file to a binder because I needed room! Having recipes on a full sheet of paper gives me room to make notes about the recipe: ingredient substitutions, adjustments in cooking time, etc.

Using tabs, my recipes are sorted by their category: Appetizer, Soup, Meat, Poultry, Fish, Veggies, Cakes, Pies, etc. (I have a binder just for cookies – they are my thang.) I then have each category separated by a sheet of colored paper: tried and true recipes are in front of it, never-been-made are behind it.

When I first put my recipe binder together, it was a fun trip down memory lane. I would love it to resemble a scrap book. But alas, I’m not that crafty. Maybe when little dude goes to school full time in a couple years.

Anyway, having my handy-dandy makes meal planning a snap. When I sit down to put my grocery list together, I just grab my binder. Using the sale circular, I find what’s on sale, then find a recipe.

Have fun putting your binder together!

Check out more Works For Me Wednesday tips over at Rocks In My Dryer!

Psst! Looking for recipes? Then check out the cookbooks I have available in my e-book shop!